


Dipper's guide to the difficult to explain

by haunted_dorito



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Sibling Bonding, Supportive Mabel Pines, Trans Boy Dipper Pines, Trans Character, Trans Dipper Pines, Trans Male Character, Transphobia, but its quick dont worry, pretty much everyone is supportive, will add additional tags as the story goes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:55:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21761803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haunted_dorito/pseuds/haunted_dorito
Summary: No one said it would be easy.Historically, Dipper thinks, these things have always been notoriously difficult. But as always, having his sister by his side was a sure-fire way to make anything easier in his eyes (though in this particular situation he wasn't sure it would be enough to fix anything).(A/N: An explanation of how the mystery twins end up in Gravity Falls, and a few adventures with their new family. Very little angst.)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 151





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know of any mistakes- this is my first fic oof

No one said it would be easy.

Historically, Dipper thinks, these things have always been notoriously difficult. But as always, having his sister by his side was a sure-fire way to make anything easier in his eyes (though in this particular situation he wasn't sure it would be enough to fix anything).

Mabel had been sure (so, so _sure_ ), that their parents would be supportive of his identity. In the beginning, when this whole mess had started, they had tried to sneakily pry some opinions out of their mother and father, however both had been stubbornly silent on the subject, leaving Dipper, as always, placing his blind trust in Mabel's endless optimism.

__

Only this time it wasn't enough.

__

It wasn't enough to soften the harsh, disgusted lines of their parent's faces. Not enough to change the sharp tone of their voices as he was told to 'get the fuck _out!_ ' into something more comforting.

__

Not enough to force open the door that slammed behind them.

__

"C'mon, DipDop," Mabel took a breath, taking Dipper's hand and squeezing it in her own.

__

"Let's go."

__


	2. Chapter One: Buses take forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper contemplates the new distance from his parents. Mabel contemplates her future as a barber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter one! More to come soon

Of course she would go with him. In her mind, there was no alternative. 

When Dipper had come out it had been messy, a lot of screaming and angry words and hurt sobbing coming from the living room that Mabel had been banished from.

Mabel was... Confused, for the most part. When Dipper had come out to _her_ , it had been a much softer experience. It had only taken a couple of seconds for everything to click in Mabel's mind, and she had been so _happy_ for her brother, he could finally be himself! ( _him_ self. That was the only thing Mabel had needed time to adjust to, but after a couple of days it felt as easy as breathing. Dipper had been understanding of the few times she'd slipped up, which Mabel was grateful for.)

It was a good thing, Mabel had decided. Her brother was a boy, he was himself and happy, so what was the problem? What were their parents so angry about?

When Dipper emerged from the living room, hyperventilating and sobbing in the midst of a panic attack worse than Mabel had ever seen, she knew they were leaving. Dipper had told her, during the first draft of his coming out speech, that should the worst possible outcome become reality, she should stay behind. Mabel had promptly ignored him of course, because if Dipper was going somewhere, _she was going with him, duh_ and there was no way he could stop her. 

He had laughed at the time, they both had. Because from their room, both hunched over a notebook on Dipper's bed, planning his big reveal, being kicked out wasn't something that would happen. Because their parents loved them unconditionally, right? Whether Dipper was a boy or a girl or anything in-between, he was still _theirs_ , and they still loved him, right?

It had been scary to begin to doubt something so certain, but both twins knew that they had to consider every outcome. Before Dipper had descended the stairs to the living room, they had both packed bags. Dipper's idea. _'Just in case.'_

Dipper had insisted that Mabel wait outside, despite her protests, so she had settled for crouching behind the door, listening through the crack beneath (though it was soon obvious that she could've heard it all from their room).

When Dipper emerged, she knew they were leaving.

It was real and scary, but she would do this for her brother. Even as Dipper sobbed, pacing back and forth in their room, running his hands violently through his long hair, his mouth moving a mile a minute ( _'what the hell what the hell where are we gonna go, Mabel, what're we gonna do, we don't have money or basic life skills or anything useful what're we gonna do, Mabel, shit, what're we gonna do?'_ ), Mabel was there for him as a solid force. ( _'We've planned for this, BroBro, it's gonna be okay. We'll go stay with Grunkle Stan-' 'We can't just _turn up_ , Mabel, and we can't explain what happened, it's a small town we'll be hate-crimed-' 'It'll be okay, Dipper. It will.'_)

And so they ended up at a bus station, huddled on a damp metal bench as the rain poured outside. It was a good twenty minutes on foot from their house to the bus station (even longer when you're twelve and short,) and by the time they arrived, it was approaching darkness. Spread out on the bench beside them was the exact change for the bus, courtesy of Mabel's bedazzled piggy bank, which held their shared pocket money. Mabel had pestered the older woman at the help desk with questions regarding their trip, while Dipper had counted the money they had saved, his hood pulled tightly around his face. Mabel had returned several minutes later with the cost of a one way trip to Gravity Falls, Oregon, several bus maps and timetables, (for her scrapbook) and a pair of kitchen scissors.  
\----------------------------------------

Watching his hair fall to the ground relieved a lot more of Dipper's stress than he thought it would. This hadn't been in the plan per-se, Mabel had assured him that they would get his hair cut 'along the way', but he hadn't been prepared for it to be this early. He had been studying the crumpled dollar bills when Mabel had returned, grinning like Christmas had come early, holding a worn pair of scissors. To most people, the sight would have been distressing at the very least, but Dipper couldn't help but grin back at his twin (though the smile was much more teary than Mabel would have liked). 

As more of his long hated hair was chopped away, Dipper felt himself relax. He had thought that he'd be more upset; being kicked out was a large change (Dipper had never been good at change), but now that it was over, he felt... Relieved? Maybe, in his mind, he'd already distanced himself from his parents, and that's why they didn't hurt to lose. He couldn't bring himself to put distance between himself and Mabel, though, and he had been utterly _terrified_ to find out how much she would hurt to lose. Thankfully, he thinks, he won't need to.

"You alright there?" Mabel asks, snipping at final longer hairs at the back of his neck. "You haven't said two words since we got here- you all talked out or what?"

Dipper huffs a gentle laugh, picking up his severed ponytail and flopping it back and forth in his hands, his legs swinging idly. "Pretty much."  
His voice is rough from crying, and Mabel scrunches her nose at the sound. She forces a large smile, adjusting from her kneeling position to sit properly beside her brother. "Done! Not to brag, but I could _definitely_ be a barber,"

Dipper swivels instantly to inspect his hair in the bus station window. Staring back at him is himself, a version of himself he can almost recognise. He can't help but grin giddily at the sight.  
Mabel makes an audibly happy sound, poking his cheeks. "Do you love it? I love it," She wriggles excitedly on the bench. 

"I love it," Dipper agrees at once, fluffing his hair and grinning wider at how easily it moves.  
Mabel squeaks again, digging through her bag and pulling out a disposable camera. She wraps her arms around her brother, pointing excitedly at his hair as she snaps a selfie. "For the album!" She explains, and Dipper smiles even more.

Maybe they would be okay.


	3. Chapter 2: Say goodbye to your kneecaps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, gosh. Another kind of short one, I'm hoping to get this story rolling more frequently. Hope you enjoy! (Also! I changed my user to match my tumblr)

Their bus arrived faster than either of them had expected- probably chalked up to the lack of people travelling to middle-of-nowhere, Oregon, at almost midnight. The ride would take them at least until sunrise, leaving plenty of time to plan ahead...

And plenty of time for Dipper's anxiety to go absolutely ape-shit.

He picked idly at the loose threads of the bus seat in front of his own, slowly unravelling the thin material covering the uncomfortable, plastic seating. Mabel had all but dragged him to the very back seats, usually taken over by the mean high-schoolers that all but ran their town, and immediately ensured that her brother was settled, pulling out the obnoxiously bright blanket from her backpack and throwing it over the both of them. Even with the familiar blanket and his sister by his side, he couldn't help but dread arriving at their destination. 

From what Dipper had been told, Grunkle Stan was an... eccentric character. Their parents had never spoken particularly nicely of him, mentions of tax evasion and other various crimes were always at the forefront of the conversations. Whenever Stan was brought up, he was often being used as a bad example, what not to do ('You don't want to end up like your great-uncle, do you? Living in some shack in the woods.'). Despite their parents apparent disapproval, whenever summer rolled around, their parents always discussed shipping them over there for a vacation. They had always changed their minds, though.

The thought eased Dipper's mind slightly. Gravity Falls had always been an option, so surely that meant Stan was okay with having them for a while? 

Hopefully.

Maybe they could get away with saying that they'd been sent by their parents. It was summer, after all. Dipper took a breath, leaning his head against the bus window and pulling his legs up onto the seat. They'd just have to go with the flow. Whatever happens, happe-

"Did you know you can get clip on ding-dongs?"

Dipper chokes on a laugh, turning his head to raise an eyebrow at his twin. Mabel was scrolling through her phone, her eyes wide with amusement.

"Uh, yeah," Dipper laughs, ignoring the slight heat on his cheeks. "I don't think i'll be needing one. It's not like anyone's gonna watch me use the bathroom."

"I know, I knoooow," Mable grins, flapping a hand in Dipper's direction to dismiss him. "It's just funny."

"Why are you even looking at those?" Dipper scooched closer to peer at his sister's phone screen.

"I was just looking at the all the stuff you can buy, i dunno what you'd need," She switches to a different tab and turns the phone so Dipper can see. "There are these shirt thingys-"

"Binders."

Mabel nods. "Right. But I don't think you need one of those, either."

'Not yet,' Dipper thinks, mentally shuddering at the thought.

Mabel pulls the phone back toward herself, beginning to scroll again. "There's not a whole lot else..."

Dipper nods, leaning back against the window. "Yeah, I'm pretty much set until puberty," He grins as Mabel fake-gags at the word. "There's obviously, like, medical stuff, but i don't think i'd be able to get that until i'm older."

Mabel nods, scrunching her nose in understanding. "That sucks butt."

There's a brief silence, as Mabel chews thoughtfully on her lip. 

"Whaddaya think Gravity Falls is like?" She asks softly, an attempt to change the subject as she pulls her knitting out from her bag. 

"I mean, its got to be weird, right? Its not on any of the maps." Dipper turns to watch Mabel work, fascinated by the steadily growing sweater. "I hope Grunkle Stan isn't too mad that we're just showing up."

"Nah," Mabel grins. "He's a criminal, Dipper. We'll just say we're on the run and he'll let us stay with him, no problem. We'll be a crime family." Mabel looks very seriously off into the distance for a moment, pausing in her knitting. She continues in what Dipper assumes is a very exaggerated Italian accent. "The Gravity Falls Mafia. We'll return home as outlaws and break Mom and Dad's kneecaps."

Dipper laughs gently in surprise. "Mabel, we can't just go around breaking peoples knees,"

Mabel turns to him, grinning. "Watch me, Dipper. They don't deserve knees." She giggles, picking up her needles once again. "Nah, we'll just try and keep Grunkle Stan out of jail."

Dipper laughs again at the absurdity of the entire conversation, but can't help but imagine having a new family, him, Mabel and Grunkle Stan... 

Hopefully without becoming the mafia.


End file.
